LeBron has nothing on NASCAR drivers when it comes to heat
LONG POND, Pa. - The cramps didn't flare at a pivotal moment during his run of six championships, but Jimmie Johnson once had an incapacitating moment of muscular distress to rival LeBron James.
Johnson was racing a sports car in the withering heat at Daytona International Speedway in July 2007 when the drinking system in his car malfunctioned. Unable to stay hydrated, Johnson pitted 10 laps before the scheduled end of his stint because he couldn't apply enough force to the brake pedal (causing him to miss a backstretch chicane).
But the problems really started when Johnson returned to his motor home to cool off.
'About an hour later, I actually went into a full body cramp and was stranded inside my motor home lying on the floor,' he said with a laugh Friday before Sprint Cup practice at Pocono Raceway. 'I wish I had a picture of what I looked like. I'm telling you every muscle in my body locked up. I could barely get to my phone, which was on the table.'
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Johnson, also weary from practicing and qualifying his No. 48 Chevrolet in Sprint Cup earlier in the day, was able to knock the phone off the counter and dialed Hendrick Motorsports teammate Jeff Gordon, who was in an adjacent motor home.
'When he didn't answer, I didn't know what I was going to do,' Johnson said. 'Then shortly thereafter he called back. I just started yelling at him to get over here. As he came in, it took him about two or three minutes to stop laughing at me. Then he got me to the care center, and three IV bags later, I felt like myself again.'
Driver fitness was a hot topic at Pocono in the wake of James being felled Thursday by cramps in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. The absence of the Miami superstar was a determining factor in the Heat's 110-95 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, whose arena was stiflingly humid because of a broken air-conditioning system.
It's rare for drivers in NASCAR's premier series to attribute lackluster results to being affected by heat or dehydration. When he attempted the Indianapolis 500 and Coca-Cola 600 back to back in 1999, Tony Stewart finished fourth in the nightcap after tiring in the final 100 laps.
LeBron James suffered from cramps during Game 1 of the NBA Finals when the air conditioning stopped working in the AT&T Center.(Photo: Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports)
But learning to withstand extreme conditions in cars that don't have A/C (though drivers' helmets are hooked to cooling systems) is considered part of the job.
Roush Fenway Racing veteran Carl Edwards said he's learned to adapt to cockpits that can be 40 degrees hotter than ambient temperatures, though his June 2002 debut in the Camping World Truck Series provided a rude awakening at Memphis (Tenn.) Motorsports Park.
'I remember at one point they threw the caution, and I couldn't see what it was for and then I realized (it) was because my truck was on fire,' Edwards said. 'It was so hot. I don't think it has ever gotten any better, it is just that you get used to the heat. I don't know if there are physiological things that happen or if it is all psychological. I have learned to enjoy it. It is kind of fun when it gets really hard and that becomes part of the race that you have to overcome, part of the difficulty. I look forward to the hot days.
'If you don't have the seat right and don't have the blowers in the right place, it is extremely hot. I don't think of it much anymore, but at Dover (last Sunday), I was lifting my heels off the floor on the straightaway because it was burning my heels. Everybody does that all the time, but you don't realize everything in the car is that hot. Those guys back in the day without the fans and (cooling) ducts, those were some men.'
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Matt Kenseth has been dehydrated during a Cup race only once - at Charlotte Motor Speedway in October '99 during his fifth career start. He said vast improvements in comfort have improved stamina.
'Early in my NASCAR career, the insulation wasn't near as good in the car, the seats didn't fit near as good, so you're a lot more fatigued because you're slouching around,' the Joe Gibbs Racing driver said. 'The environment was a lot worse when I started. They've made huge strides. The biggest improvement is just the seats - they fit so much better and your body stays more relaxed.'
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